Faction Before Love
by MycatISLordTubbington
Summary: Faction loyalty is the most important value in society, we leave our families and friends behind when we change, and once we choose there is no gong back. But what happens when a family is made between two factions? And does any of it matter when the world begins to crumble around you? AU with OC's
1. The Encounter

**A/N So all you really need to know**

**1\. I do not own Max, Divergent, the Factions, or any other copyrighted conent in this fic**

**2\. I do own Alice**

**3\. This is slightly AU (by the end it'll probably be completely AU)  
**

**4\. This story has a companion story, it's called Brave Hearts, OC's from Brave Hearts will be mentioned in this story. I'll do my best to make it so you don't have to read one to understand the other, but it may happen.**

**5\. This was written before I read Insurgent so Amity is my Amity not VR's Amity. Same goes for some other stuff**

**6\. The start of this story is about 6 months before Tris' choosing day**

Music pounded in the smoky warehouse as Alice weaved through the crowd. No matter how many times she came here, she would never get used to the dim lighting and blaring music and jumping dauntless around her, but she couldn't help loving the excited energy moving through the room.

She dodged around a dauntless man, who's dancing kind of reminded her of a beached fish, only to slam into someone else. Her drink splashed, the plastic cup crushed between their bodies.

"Oh I am so sorry!" she shouted, wiping at her shirt.

"It's fi- Alice?"

She looked up at the sound of her name, finding herself face to face with Dauntless Leader Max.

"Max, what are you doing here"

"Listening to the music. I think the important question is what are you doing here? I thought the Amity leaders were supposed to pretend these parties don't exist?"

"Party? I don't see a party" Alice smiled coyly.

Max laughed, that booming Dauntless laugh they all seemed to posses, "Well then, you wouldn't mind stepping outside this not-party with me would you?"

The two leaders left the warehouse and Alice took in a deep breath, "My god, I forgot what fresh air feels like!"

"You sound like you've been in prison," Max commented,"why would you go to one of these things if you don't like them."

"Well, that's actually the first one I've been too since I was a teenager." she blushed, "my husband didn't like them so we never went. I thought I could just jump back in but..." she trailed off.

"Yes, I heard about Roger." Max said solemnly, "I'm sorry for your loss."

They walked in silence for a while, neither really knew where they were going. They had been walking laps around the warehouse, but now they'd veered off into a neighborhood street.

"So..." Alice began awkwardly, "I-uh- I never pegged you for the concert type"

"Well, I'm really not" he chuckled, "but I am the alcohol type, and the concerts are better than drinking alone."

"But surely the Dauntless leader has a...friend he could drink with?" Alice tried not to sound too obvious.

"Is that your way of finding out if I'm involved with someone?" apparently she wasn't very subtle.

"Yes."

They both laughed again before diving into another awkward silence.

"So what about you?" Max asked, "You don't like the crowd, or the noise, and I know you don't drink unless that's a very new development, so why were you at the concert."

Alice blushed and just shook her head,

"This is my house," Alice stopped in front of a small yellow home, "Would you like to come inside?"

Max's eyes went wide, and it took Alice a moment to realize why.

"Oh!" She cried, "Oh no, not like that! I just- you've been drinking and- the trains- I just thought..."

"It's ok" Max laughed, "yes, I would love to come in."

"Great," Alice smiled, "Roxy, my daughter, she's at her grandparents house so the house is empty."

"You aren't helping your case, Alice"

"I just mean you don't need to worry about waking anyone. I swear, you have got a one track mind."

Alice unlocked her house and led Max into the kitchen

"Me?" Max said incredulously, "If I'm not mistaken, just in half an hour you have approached me, questioned me about my love life, and invited me into your empty home. I think you're just in denial."

"Drink this," Alice handed him a glass of water, "maybe when you're sober you'll stop getting these crazy thoughts."

"You know Alice, I never actually said I was drunk."

"Yes you did."

"No I did not, I said I had gone to the concert with the intent of getting drunk. I had only just walked in the door when I bumped into you." Max smirked as if he has just revealed a big secret

"Then why did you leave with me."

"Hmm," Max's smirk turned into a mischievous smile, "how about I tell you that after you finally answer my question."

"What question?"

"Why were you at the concert?"

Alice tried to hide her surprise.

"Oh, right, that." She blushed, hesitating, "I don't want to tell you."

"It cannot be that bad. Come on, we're faction leaders, I'm sure this is not the worst secret you've got under your belt."

"Ok fine...I was at the concert for the same reason most Amity women go there."

"That's not an answer that's a riddle." Although Max knew exactly what she meant.

"I was there..." she thought about the best way to phrase it before deciding to just screw it all, "I was there in the hopes of meeting an attractive man that I could have sex with and never see again."

Alice leaned over the table top, her shirtfront falling forward and revealing her cleavage.

"Now your turn Max, why did you leave with me?"

"Because I thought taking a walk with a beautiful woman might be more enjoyable than getting drunk. And I do believe I was right."

Alice was enchanted by Max's smile, and his eyes, he looked so kind. He'd never looked kind before but now, he seemed positively charming.

"Perhaps," Max said slowly, "I should go now?"

"Or maybe," Alice leaned in close and whispered against his lips,"you should stay."


	2. The Misunderstood & Misrepresented Tina

**A/N: Heyyyyyy. So we have been stuck in a rut for about a year now, in case you didn't notice, and we've kind of lost this story, so we're deleting Chapter 2 and have written a new one. I'm sorry to disappear and then just return with a new OC and a rewrite, but it just wasn't going the way we needed it to. So, here is the NEW second chapter, hope you enjoy.**

**OWNERSHIP NOTICE: The Characters of Alice, Tina, Andrew, Jolene, Quinn, and all other OC's belong to us (Rome and Kaitlin) and we're totally cool with people using them for fan art or fiction if they are so inclined (but send us links because we want to see the great work you do!)**

Tina Fairweather had a problem with keeping a man, or at least that's what the Candor-published news had said last week. Perhaps she should have known better than to date a reporter, but to be honest she was running out of options. Even so, that gave him no right to openly state that she had accumulated over 60 ex-boyfriends in her 34 years of life, and he didn't even know about all the one night stands and first dates that never took off; some of which were the same men, sometimes on different nights. So perhaps he was just being true to his manifesto when he wrote that Tina had trouble keeping a man.

Today was her first day back at work since the article had been published, causing her to take a week of personal leave. She walked slowly from hall to hall, running late as usual, this time intentionally. She hoped to the Sacred Light that she would not encounter a Candor today. A prayer that would quickly prove to fall on deaf ears, as she rounded a corner and came face to face with the last man she wanted to see right now, Jack Kang. Well, perhaps second to last, or third, or 61st. The point was she didn't want to see him. Not after the terrible article, which she was well aware he had read, as he was the person who notified her of it. He had been intrigued to find that it listed him as her next possible suitor, and the embarrassment had led her to cry in his office for the better half of an hour while he frantically searched for someone better at handling emotions to come calm her down. It was not a moment that she was interested in reliving, so she did what any logical person would do…she ducked through the first open door she saw. A utility closet, as it turned out to be.

"Tina, I know you're in there," his stoic voice called out.

"I just, need something from in here!" she hollered back. Jack poked his head around the door.

"You know, all this lying is why Candors don't like you."

"All that pointedly making people uncomfortable is why Amities are not always fond of you…if you don't mind my saying so." Tina had learned at a very young age that in Amity you can say whatever you want, as long as you follow it with "if that's alright" or "if you don't mind" and it was a loophole she used frequently.

"I don't mind. I'm going to move on as you are clearly hiding from me, but Alice is looking for you."

"Of course, I'll report in immediately." She said, pushing past him. "Not that you needed to know that. I mean, um, I am very good at my job and now I'm going to go do my job. And don't try to analyze that last statement!" she rushed down the hall, pretending not to feel his bemused smirk following her.

Okay, so maybe the magazine hadn't lied about her liking Jack. Of course it hadn't lied, it was Candor-published, which meant everyone would firmly believe every word of it. But, even knowing that, Tina had forced herself back to work. She couldn't have Alice thinking she was so pathetic as to let a silly article debilitate her. Even though it had…for a week. But Alice would never mention that, it would be rude. So Tina was going to just pretend she had been sick all week and Alice and Johanna would have to go along with it. The best part of Amity life was people had to believe you when you lied; calling you out would be too confrontational. Knowing she would not be questioned, Tina proudly strolled into the Central Council Building's conference room.

The Central Council Building was, as one could imagine, in the center of the city. The building was a single skyscraper, dedicated to the collaboration of the Factions. While many people rarely left their own Faction areas, the leaders met here every day. Meetings were held every morning amongst all the leaders, though with just a few representatives from Abnegation as their full council was too large. By the looks of the council room today, it was Marcus Eaton and Andrew Prior, not that it really mattered, they never talked much. The other factions however, they talked quite a bit, most of it arguing. Tina vaguely remembered being assigned her own office when she became a Junior Leader of Amity, but she hadn't seen the inside of it in a while. Her main job description seemed to be "sit in boring meetings and then run paperwork about boring meetings until the next boring meeting". Tina still wasn't sure exactly why she had wanted this job.

"Tina, there you are. I was starting to get worried." Alice appeared in front of Tina seconds after she entered the room, saying words that only other Amities would hear the hostility of. To translate, what Alice had said in Amity-talk was, _"Well it's about time you showed up. I thought I would have to drag your ass back here myself."_

"Hi Alice, I'm sorry I'm late. I think I'm still feeling a little under the weather." Tina lied.

"Poor thing, well I'm so glad you're back. It's been too quiet without you here." Alice played along, wrapping Tina in a dainty hug.

Alice was a few inches shorter that Tina, but with her heels she came in at the perfect height to give Tina a nose-full of rosewater scented blonde hair. Alice was one of few Amities who actively kept up their appearance beyond basic hygiene. She was always dressed in elegant flared skirts and perfectly ironed blouses. Her hair was always perfectly curled and pinned, and her she wore a bright red lipstick that never seemed to smear. Her heels were pale yellow and never dirty, despite the dusty Amity streets. Her shining blue eyes always gave the appearance of being overjoyed to see you yet disappointed you weren't someone else, but perhaps that was only towards Tina.

Tina was less put together than Alice. Where Alice's hair was perfectly set, Tina's brown locks had sprigs and split ends. Where Alice's make-up was flawless, Tina couldn't be bothered to put any on. And where Alice was always dressed in best of taste, Tina was often hastily dressed, and always seemed to find the odd toothpaste stain or ripped hem right after getting home from work. It was a wonder, Tina had half the responsibility of Alice, and Alice was a widowed mother, but somehow one would think Alice just had a few more hours in her day than the rest of the world.

"Is there anything I can do to help out around here?" Tina asked.

"Always. Jerry is going to be so relived not to have to attend meetings anymore. We're just waiting on Jack now. He went to find you. After the meeting I'll catch you up, I left any paper work that didn't need to be done right away on your desk for you."

Of course she had, anything to make Tina's life harder, right? But Tina just smiled and took her seat as Jack finally returned to the room.

"Hi everyone. I apologize for making you wait. I found Tina but she didn't want to talk to me so I took the long way around back here." He said in a voice like he had rehearsed it the whole way back.

"Well, thank you so much for searching for her Jack. I think it well past time to start now, don't you?" Alice smiled with false sweetness.

"Well, by the schedule, yes. But by how late you and Max consistently were last week, I'd say we're right on track."

"Alright," Max's gravely voice pierced the room's tension, "we're all entitled to be a little late now and then. Let's just cut the chitchat and get down to business. Johanna, how's the spring harvest coming?"

"Wonderfully," Johanna replied, glad for the change of subject as Alice, Tina, and Jack took their seats. "We just planted some new lettuce, spinach, and melons, and the apple orchards are sprouting buds."

"And the water treatments?" Jeanine inquired.

"They may need a touch up soon…"

Tina stopped listening, this would all be in the report Alice would force her to file later anyway. She was gazing nowhere in particular, when she thought she saw Max catch her eye. No, not her eye, Alice's. The two were staring at each other like they were the only two people in the room. What had happened while she was gone? What was that Jack had said about them being late? If Tina's past office experience told her anything, "late" was code for either fighting, or sex. By look on Max's face, it was the latter.

Maybe she wasn't be the only bit of office gossip anymore.


	3. An Uncomfortable Confrontation

Jack Kang was never one to avoid conflict. Pretending not to have something to say to someone, or even just not saying it, was as bad as lying. He had established this with his secretary, who was also his former girlfriend, and the child they had together, he'll even establish it with you now, for honesty's sake. But for some reason he could not manage to enforce this rule with Tina Fairweather. Tina was not a Candor, so he could not expect her to follow his rules, but he should have been able to follow them himself. He had failed to confront her in the hall that morning, and after the meeting as well. Lunch had come and gone with no interaction, and now he found himself preparing to leave, having completed every task he had set for himself that day but one.

He was being overemotional about this, perhaps because Tina had been. Then again, Tina's reaction was to be expected from her. Perhaps it was because she had cried. Jack was accustomed to crying only in cases where one believed themselves to be in great pain or at great risk. Tina must have felt very hurt by the article he showed her, and perhaps he should have anticipated that; but he did not predict the effect such a reaction would have on him. Jack had merely thought the article would be a nice leeway into discussing the state of his and Tina's attraction to one another. It was painfully obvious, everyone could see that Tina was attracted to him, and any Candor could tell that he was attracted to her. He had yet to address the subject with her, as Tina was involved with someone and he did not see the point, at the time, in addressing what he believed to be obvious. It was not obvious, he had gathered, to Tina. He had assumed in the past that her blatant flirtation, actions that would be considered inappropriate workplace behavior in Amity, was her special way of hinting that she knew. He now realizes that she was being so obvious because she had thought him oblivious. After having realized that he was not frank enough, and may perhaps have deceived her, Jack determined that he must tell Tina of his feelings immediately, lest this unintentional omission of truth grow to a deliberate misleading.

"Jack?" his intercom buzzed. Rather than answer, he stepped out to where his secretary Jolene sat.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to remind you that Ms. Fairweather will be staying late this evening," Jolene eyed his already-buttoned coat, "so if you were under the impression that you missed her, she is still here. Given that you are done with your work, and do not need to pick up Quinn for an hour, I am reminding you that you have time to prevent yourself from avoiding this necessary, albeit uncomfortable, encounter any longer."

"While it is polite to say thank you in such a situation, my nerves at undertaking this encounter prevent me from being truly grateful."

"Thank you for your honesty." Jolene said with complete earnest. Jolene always said that line with earnest, because she was always genuinely happy to hear the truth.

"Very well." Jack sighed, knowing this must be done if he wished to sleep on a clear conscience tonight. "Will you be needing a ride home this evening?"

"I would appreciate that, thank you. I want to remind Quinn not to leave wig hair in the shower. They have no reason to bathe wearing false hair."

Jack snickered at Jolene's frustration. He experienced the same issue with their child, who was insistent that false hair worn only a few hours a week required the same maintenance as that on one's head. Jack couldn't attest to the truth of this, but Quinn firmly believed it, so he simply invested in a drain snake.

Jack exited the office and turned in the direction of the Amity wing. Tina's office would be located at the end of the hall, a small room with no windows and no reception area. He stopped more often than necessary, to speak with people he had no reason to speak to and ask them questions he had no true need for answers to. His stomach was in fits as he reached the door and raised his hand to knock. He had been rehearsing the encounter and all the ways it might go for over a week now.

"Oh," Tina was surprised to see him when she opened the door, "snickerdoodles."

"They are a type of cookie." Jack said without hesitation. "But, I don't have any. Unless, you were offering me one? In which case, that would be welcomed. But I need to speak with you about matters beyond baked desserts."

Tina seemed unsure how to respond and it occurred to Jack that perhaps "snickerdoodles" meant something other than a cookie to Tina. She had a habit of replacing words that the Amity deemed rude with random nouns beginning with the same letter.

"Oh, there are no cookies." Jack observed aloud. "'Snickerdoodle' was just an expression, wasn't it?"

"Yeah….uh…so what did you need, Jack? I'm pretty busy playing catch-up with all the work I missed last week. Alice said Jerry couldn't handle it all."

"He could have," Jack interrupted, "he lied to Alice and Alice accepted that. But I don't believe what I have to say will take long."

"Okay, go on." Tina appeared to prepare herself for a blow, perhaps to her ego.

"Well, I just wanted to say that…." What had he wanted to say? Jack was forgetting what he rehearsed. He should have made flash cards. Jack cleared his throat and began again. "I have known for several weeks that you are attracted to me. I have been attracted to you for as long, possibly longer. I said nothing because you were consistently involved with other men and I did not want to put you in the situation of reassessing those relationships. I thought my flirtations were clear, but now I realize I must be more blunt, as the possibility of you being attracted to me and not having the attraction reciprocated seems, by my observation, to have caused you stress. So, if you are still attracted to me, and interested in exploring that attraction, would you perhaps like to go to dinner with me tomorrow night?" Jack said this all very steadily, not wanting to miss a single word.

Tina had no immediate response. She appeared not to have understood what he had said at first, but as the realization dawned that he was inviting her on a date, her cheeks flushed a light pink. Her demeanor changed visibly, her arms dropping from their tense crossed position and her hips swaying from one side to the other. Her chin lowered and her eyelashes fluttered more than was necessary to blink, but les than if she had something irritating them.

"Oh, well, I didn't know you felt that way about me." Tina gushed. It was clear she really hadn't known. "This is pretty sudden, I mean I've been going through a lot lately. I don't want you to think I'm not interested, but I'm just dealing with a lot of personal stuff and I mean-"

"Would another night work better? You're busy after your time off, I understand. Perhaps lunch? Or coffee, if you have so little time? Or I could just leave you alone, until you are in a better emotional state to consider the offer."

"I…" She hesitated and when she spoke again it was in a voice Jack had realized was reserved only for Candors. "I think that lunch would be both appropriate and agreeable, and I would enjoy having lunch with you tomorrow at the scheduled lunchtime for building workers."

"We don't have a scheduled lunchtime."

"Oh, well I do. It's noon." Tina looked embarrassed, likely because her schedule was made and so closely monitored by Alice.

"Well, then I shall see you at noon. Do you have a preferred meeting place?"

"Well, I'm a pretty picky eater. How about we meet in the lobby and decide after that?"

"That sounds like a reasonable course of action. I imagine it will take a short amount of time after noon to reach the lobby, so I will meet you at approximately twelve-o-five. I hope you have a pleasant evening." Jack nodded stiffly and turned back up the corridor, relieved for the conversation to be over, and excited for the following day.


	4. A Lunch That Was Actually Quite Pleasant

**A/N Longer chapter today. TW for very brief mention of suicide, just in case. **

The evening was typical, though not uneventful, as was the following morning. Jack drove Jolene back to the Candor Living Facility (nicknamed the "Merciless Mart" by other factions with more humor and less dignity) where he fetched their child Quinn and the two bid Jolene goodbye and returned to Jack's home on the top floor. Dinner was quiet, the morning was smattered with only two panics from Quinn, the first about not having lipstick that "had an adequate amount of sparkle" for their liking, and the other about cutting their chin shaving and now "having to go to school looking completely inept at caring for myself". All in all it was a calm morning for Jack's days with Quinn.

There was no Leaders' Meeting today, so Jack spent the rest of the morning until noon in his office attempting half-heartedly to work. When Jolene buzzed him at noon to remind him about lunch, he was suddenly nauseous. It occurred to him that this was the first date he had been on in several months, and the first that he had been nervous about since having been involved with Jolene. What's more, unlike Jolene, Tina was not obligated by a paycheck to offer him her company or to be honest with him. Given Tina's record, that last part made him the most nervous. He was not obligated to call out dishonesty in people outside Candor, but it was a hard habit to fight, and one that Tina was not secretive about disliking.

He entered the lobby at exactly five-past-noon and there was no sign of Tina. This was no surprise, but the irrational part of his mind still worried that she had changed her mind and was not coming. He hadn't even seen her this morning, for all he knew she was not at work at all. She could be dead even! It was perhaps better he just return to his office.

"Hi! Sorry I'm late!" A flustered Tina with a large wet mark on her chest called rushing from the elevator. "I spilt coffee on my shirt so I had to change into the dress I keep in my office, but that had something else on it, I don't even know what it was. So then I was doing all I could just to get something clean and… but anyway I'm here now. We can go wherever you want to eat, I'm so hungry right now that I don't really care." Tina laughed uncomfortably. She looked exhausted, her hair was ruffled like she had been pushing it around all morning, and there were heavy bags under her eyes.

"You look exhausted. Perhaps today is not a convenient day?"

"No! Today is a great day. Trust me I need this." She immediately regretted that last comment, her face visibly falling as she realized the implication. "I mean, not like I need you. I just mean…"

"You need a break?" Jack completed the sentence.

"Yes, that is exactly what I need."

"I know a quiet place. It's a bit far from here, but we can take my car. I think it may be just what you need." Jack headed for the exit, Tina scurrying behind him.

The parking area was a small covered lot; it was only half full as few people owned cars. Jack located his own vehicle near the back of the lot; he despised being blocked in by other cars. The drive was uncomfortable and quiet save for a few tentative comments from Tina like "nice car" and "you smell good…I mean…um…the car smells good?" Jack chose to ignore that last little fib.

They arrived outside the tall white concrete hub ten minutes or so after leaving the office.

"The Merciless Mart? How romantic." Tina seemed bemused.

"That's not its name." Jack corrected her.

"It's not?" Tina was genuinely confused, "I mean, of course it's not."

Jack shook is head, entertained by Tina's nervous missteps, if not a bit irritated by her constant lies. He gestured his hand for her to follow him and led her to the elevator that took them up to his top-floor apartment.

"I'm glad you didn't take me through the main area," Tina commented, "I wouldn't want anyone to see me."

"That is why I parked in the back. While I may not understand your deep shame about people knowing things you never really kept secret, I can respect your discomfort. That's why I thought a private meal was best for today, even if it will cut our time a little short." Jack took out his key and held the door for Tina to enter his home.

"Oh! We're eating here…in your house." Tina flushed a hot pink.

"Well, technically it's an apartment. But where I live, yes." Jack did not understand this discomfort. His eyes swept the room to see if perhaps he or Quinn had left a stray pair of underwear on the floor or dishes in sink, but the home was spotless as usual. "Is there a problem?" he asked.

"Well I just, well um, uh…" Tina struggled to find the words, "it's just, most people I go out with wait a date or two before bringing me too their place. That's all."

"Well of course, one usually likes time to prepare. But I'm pretty tidy so I didn't think there would be any problem with bringing you over unexpectedly." Jack began to wonder what Amities must have been doing in their own homes that would make unexpected guests so unwelcome. Candors typically had an open-door policy with friends and family, reserving the right to ask them to leave when they pleased. Jack ventured into the kitchen and began gathering bread, vegetables, and condiments to make some sandwiches. "Do you like meat?" he asked.

"Do I, what?" Tina noticed the ham in front of him. "Oh, yes. We don't eat it much in Amity, but I do enjoy it."

Jack began slicing vegetables and assembling the various ingredients onto the slices of bread. Tina sat herself at the kitchen table. Jack finished preparing the food and set a plate in front of Tina along with a bottle of water.

"You're strangely quiet today." Jack noted.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about the last time I was here."

"You've never been here before." Jack tried to remember a time Tina had seen his home. She was too young to have been here when the last leader held this room.

"I mean in this building, in Candor." Tina corrected herself.

"Oh, when was that?" Jack enquired.

"Um, about three weeks ago." She seemed unwilling to share more detail, but pressed on, "I was in Mark's apartment. We had an argument."

"The journalist?" Acquiring confirmation from Tina's nod, Jack continued, "What about?"

"Well, I just found out some things about the nature of our relationship….maybe it was a difference of opinion….and then I just felt like….you know?"

Jack did not 'know' and was actually quite confused.

"If you don't want to discuss it, that is okay. But if you do wish to continue, I'm going to need a little more detail here." Jack could tell that Tina very much wanted to talk about this. He wondered if she had any friends at all that could confide in.

Tina took a large breath that let Jack know he was about to hear the whole story and perhaps more, "I don't know, it felt like a normal day, to me at least. He invited me over after we had been dating for a month and then I found out that he had two other women he'd been seeing and that was not the impression of our relationship I had because in Amity you're monogamous unless you say otherwise. So then I got upset because I'd felt lied to but he said it wasn't lying because in Candor you're only monogamous after you say you're monogamous but not before. And then he got defensive like I was accusing him of something, which I was because he completely misled me. Then we started arguing about our entire relationship and then I found out that he was writing about me and I had thought that was sweet but then I found out it was just about what a huge slut he thinks I am and he said that I knew he was a journalist so I shouldn't have told him anything I didn't want written down and he just started berating me and I had thought I could just tell him whatever because I thought it would be okay to be honest with him, you know, but it turns out he'd just memorized it all for his article about my love life and I can't deal with that! Who does that? I do disclose a lot but I don't expect people to turn around and just tell the world and I can't believe I'm doing it right now!" She stopped speaking and froze, staring right at Jack as she realized what she had just done.

Jack had no idea how to respond to this situation.

"That's…a lot to process," he said, taking a bite of his sandwich to bide time. Jack agreed that maybe Tina should have been smarter about this, judging by what he had read in the article Tina really had told Mark everything. But then again…"What Mark did was very deceptive actually. I may have to meet with the disciplinary board about him."

Tina seemed less than happy about this idea, "Oh my, maybe I shouldn't have said anything. I don't want to get Mark in trouble."

"You probably haven't." Jack consoled her. "Most likely the disciplinary board would agree that you should have told him less. But it may frighten him a little. However, if it makes you uncomfortable for me to intervene, this is not a serious enough offense that I have to. I can keep it to myself, if that is what you want."

"I don't know. I don't want to see anyone disciplined. I wouldn't want anything horrible to happen to him, even if he was a bit unkind."

"Horrible? What do you think we do to transgressors here?"

"I honestly don't know. I suppose it's a private faction matter, I shouldn't ask. Amity discipline is just so rare and far between, but it can be taxing on the soul."

"What are you all doing over there?" Jack wasn't aware that Amity disciplined people at all; he thought they were too nice for that. All he knew about was the drugged bread, which seemed more like a reward to him.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"So, I know about the serum. When people act out you give them a little. That's the same thing we do, we give people a dash of truth serum. Then obviously there is expulsion from the faction, and incarceration if they kill somebody or something of that violent nature. But what else are you doing?"

"Oh, well when you put it that way it seems pretty standard. If someone says something mean or acts out aggressively we give them a little shot of serum. They calm down and we tell them why they can't say or do what they said or did and then everyone goes back to normal. Then of course we have immediate expulsion for any attempted or successful murder, but that is so rare. But for anything in between, like harm to another human but not as serious as murder, that would result in manuals labor, incarceration, or shunning."

'Shunning?"

"Yes, it's pretty standard for anything beyond a minor offense. The perpetrator is required to wear a pin marking them as an offender and no one outside their family is allowed to speak to them or acknowledge their presence until the mandated period is over. Then when that's done they take the pin off and give a gift to those closest to them, like friends and co-workers, as a final apology. Then everything goes back to normal and we never speak of it again."

"That is…concerning." Jack could think of no better or more honest word. "How long do these shunning last?"

"It depends on the offense. The maximum is twelve years but it's usually just a few weeks."

"Years? Without speaking to anyone?"

"Oh, that hardly ever happens, but yes. They can't even make eye contact. No interaction beyond what you need to live. So say a shunned person needs to buy something. They take what they need, set it on the counter with their payment, and when the storekeeper picks up the money they can take their goods and leave. We allow family to speak to them so that parents can still take care of their children, but that's it. We used to not even allow spouses, siblings, or adult children to speak to shunned people, but there were some suicides and we thought maybe complete isolation was bad idea. We also made a talking stick in the event someone being shunned becomes sick or is in danger and needs immediate help."

"That is the most passive-aggressive punishment I have never heard of."

"Aggressive?" Tina seemed hurt.

"I said passive."

"Yes, but what do you mean by that?"

"I just seems cruel to me. I mean, people died! And what if there was an emergency and they couldn't find the talking stick?" Jack pointed out.

"Huh, you know I never thought about that. Well anyway, it's not as if this is common. It's just a nice incentive to follow the rules. You do the same thing with the truth serum."

"Yes but that lasts an hour, not years."

"The year-long sentences are rare. That's for things like prolonged abuse not a one-time thing. We don't enjoy it, but it has to be done."

"I don't believe that to be true, but I will allow you to believe it. We should return to the office now."

"Already?" Tina seemed disappointed.

"Yes, in fact I think perhaps we should have already left. You may be late getting back."

"That's okay, I'm always late. But, this was just such a serious conversation and I just finished my food and this is now in probably my top twenty saddest dates ever."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I've had a nice time."  
"You have?" Tina was shocked.

"Would I say I had if I had not?" Jack joked

"Um, no, I mean, sorry, uh…" Jack placed a hand on Tina's shoulder.

"No need to apologize. That was a joke. But yes, I really have had a nice time. You are pleasant to talk to when no one else is listening." It was the truth, when Tina was around other Amities she was anxious. Here Jack felt he could see her most honest self. "I would like to do this again." he assured her.

She blushed lightly, not the deep flush he was accustomed to.

"I would love too." She said

"When? I'm meeting my child for lunch tomorrow, but some time after that?"

"Maybe Friday, dinner?"

"That would be nice." Jack agreed.


End file.
